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View from space: Four volcanoes in March 2013

We live on a world with active volcanoes. Beautiful NASA images from space of recent activity at four of them.

NASA satellites captured activity at four volcanoes in different parts of the world in March, 2013.

Paluweh Volcano has been erupting since October 2012, and some of the inhabitants on the island on which it’s located recently had to evacuate. This volcano is located on one of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, below Southeast Asia and north of Australia. NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite captured its image yesterday (March 31, 2013). Read more about Paluweh Volcano’s ongoing eruption here.

North Pagan Volcano released a thin volcanic plume, likely rich in sulfur dioxide, on March 25, 2013. This volcano is located approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of the island of Saipan, which is slightly north of the equator. North Pagan Volcano has been active nearly continuously since April 2011. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image.

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded the website EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website and blogs frequently about astrophysics, the night sky and other topics related to Earth, space and the human world. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.